Devotion
by MellaNella
Summary: ~*CHAPTER 4 UP*~ Sara breaks up with Grissom and goes to Nick, but Grissom swears he wll get Sara back. Who will Sara choose?...G/S and N/S...Please R&R, it's much appreciated.
1. Heartbreak

~1~1~1~1~1~  
  
Sara stood in the middle of Grissom's spacious living room. His house had very few, well, anything in it. The emptiness leered at Sara and she longed to be free, once and for all. She was tired of Grissom and all of his shit. He really didn't love her and she knew it. His heart was set on that "Madame Heather" or whatever the hell her name was. She just wanted to leave.  
  
"Grissom! I can't believe you!" Sara yelled at Grissom. She was really pissed at him. She got an empty box and went in to her room in Grissom's house to pack up whatever was in there.  
  
"It was nothing at all!" Grissom defended himself. He stood with pain in his eyes as he watched Sara.  
  
"I saw you with Madame Heather!" Sara growled. She picked up a shirt and put it in the box. She got up, looked in the mirror and put her hair into a loose ponytail as her hair was getting in the way. Then she turned to look at Grissom.  
  
"Lady Heather," Grissom corrected.  
  
"See!" Sara said with all the obviousness in the world. "You stick up for her! I knew you would!" Silent tears were now coming down Sara's cheeks. She brushed them away. "You love her and you don't love me!" She went back to packing.  
  
"Sara, listen to me. I--"  
  
"No, you listen to me Gil Grissom! I heard about you. Brass told me. You've had tea twice with the woman! You haven't even asked me to do that. I would've!" The box had no room left in it, so she closed it and tried to lift it. "Damn box."  
  
"I didn't know that you were in to that type of thing Sara." He watched her for a moment struggling to pick the box up. "Here. Let me help you with that."  
  
"You'll keep your hands away from me!" Sara yelled at Grissom. "Don't you get it? She's a whore, Grissom. Look what she does for a living. I don't even do that! I try to lead a good life. If you want to be with that.that." Sara stumbled with pain, "well, her, then I'm out of here." This whole thing was eating her up inside and the sooner she got out of here, the better. She took the box and put it by the door. She'd take it out to her car when she was finished packing everything. She then turned to Grissom. Tears were running down her face again, but this time she didn't bother to brush them away. "I thought what we had was special Grissom," she cried. "Turns out that I was just temporary."  
  
"It's not like that." Grissom put his hand up to her face. He pulled her head up to look at him. She looked at him, but with great hurt in her heart. "Listen. It will only be you and me from now on. I promise." He really felt sorry for Sara.  
  
"Really?" Sara was beginning to fall for Grissom again. She now looked at him with what was confused love. Did he really mean what he was saying? Maybe this whole thing was just a mistake. Maybe he really did love her.  
  
"Sara. You okay? I'm really sorry." And he truly was. Grissom wrapped his hands around her. She was beautiful. He put his hand up to her face and brushed her tears away.  
  
"Grissom?" She asked.  
  
"Yes, baby?"  
  
"You won't look at her ever again will you?"  
  
"Look. If you would really be happy, I'll only look at you from now on. I won't even look at Catherine again." As soon as he said the last sentence, he realized his mistake and wished to heaven that he could take it back. Unfortunately, he couldn't.  
  
"What?!" She broke from the embrace and was now wild. "You looked at Catherine the way you look at me?! I can't believe you! When were you planning on telling me this?! The day after our honeymoon?" That reminded Sara that she still had Grissom's ring. "Here. Take this piece of shit and get out of my fucking life." She took the box that was by the door and walked out to her car with it. "I'll be back, sorry to say, for the rest of my crap." With this, she got in her car and drove away.  
  
Grissom watched her go. He was forlorn and extremely discontented with himself. Why the hell did he have to go and blow it? Only God knew the answers to the most puzzling questions. He would probably never know.  
  
Women. He thought. You never really could understand them. Grissom looked at his torn up apartment. There were holes everywhere from where Sara's stuff used to be. He sighed. When Sara moved in with him, it was the best thing in the world. When he was lonely, she was just a room away. The many nights they stayed up together. It was even better when they got engaged. She would go around telling everyone. She was so happy then. All full of life, and now.what?  
  
He didn't see Lady heather the way he did Sara. She had it all wrong. What he saw in Sara was love, Lady Heather was just lust. Sara didn't realize that yet. All men looked at other women. It was just their nature. He swore to himself that he would make Sara understand. It might take awhile, but Sara was definitely worth it.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Sara dove to the storage place where she had the rest of her stuff. She had sold her house when she moved in with Grissom, so she didn't have a place to go to. Tonight, she planned on staying out and drinking. She was tremendously stressed and definitely couldn't fall asleep tonight. Drinking also helped her calm down a lot and think things out.  
  
She got out of her car and popped the trunk. She took out the boxes in there and set them at the entrance to the storage unit. She fished in her pocket for the key and unlocked the door with it. She took a wooden board to prop the door open, then she took the boxes inside. The blackness that met her eyes was uninviting and cold. She flipped the switch by the door, and the workspace came to life in a sense that she could see everything now. The scene of concrete walls and boxes greeted her. It was nothing to her, but at least it wasn't Grissom's house. How could he have done that to her? He was engaged to her, damnit! But, she reminded herself, they weren't anymore. What did Lady Heather have that she didn't? She would never know and didn't care anyway.  
  
She placed the boxes next to the others that were already there. At least she didn't accumulate stuff, so she didn't have many. She did all of this today, as it was the day she found out. She'd ask Nick to borrow his pickup after work so she could move her bed here. If worst came to worst, she would sleep here before she found a new place to stay. She turned off the light and locked it up and drove back to Grissom's to get the last of her boxes.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
When Sara came back, Grissom thought she had come back to apologize. He wasn't all there, as he had been drinking while Sara was gone.  
  
"Hey baby." He went to give her a hug.  
  
She shoved him away. "Get away from me. Nothing you do or say will get me to come back. I'm only here for the rest of my things. I'll be back later with a pickup for my bed." She got an empty box and started to put the last of her possessions in there.  
  
Grissom's face fell. He looked at her with sorrow. "It was nothing. Really." He looked down at her from across the room. Her thin hands caressed the porcelain flower that he gave her as she put it in the box.  
  
"Oh sure it wasn't," said Sara. She was dripping with sarcasm. "Neither was what we had either." She realized that Grissom had given her the figure. "You might want this back. Maybe you could give it to Heather." She threw the figure across the room with amazing strength at Grissom. He ducked to avoid letting it hit his head, and it smashed against the wall. "Not good enough for her, huh? Can't give her something that once belonged to Sara."  
  
"I love you, Sara." He sounded depressed, but Sara didn't feel sorry for him.  
  
"Like hell, you do." With that, she packed the rest of her things in silence, keeping away from Grissom. Grissom went in the kitchen and got another beer. He watched Sara from there. She picked up her boxes and left. She slammed the door as she exited.  
  
Grissom was going to get her back. Just now, he didn't know exactly how, but he would.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Sara had a rough time out on the town that night. She went to at least five different bars, getting drunker and drunker every time. She was down, and at least this took her mind off Grissom for a bit.  
  
She crawled into work about an hour before shift started. Ecklie was still there when she arrived.  
  
"Hi Sara. Here so early?"  
  
"Get the fuck away from me."  
  
She went into the break room. The familiarness of work relaxed her. According to her, she was home at last. She looked around, taking pleasure in the sight of people pouring over microscopes, performing their tests and documenting everything, and basically trying to fit the evidence together so it made sense. It was her life. Her only life.  
  
She went over to the counter and poured herself some coffee. It was stone cold, for no one had made a new pot for a while, but she really didn't care. She sat down with it at the table and looked down into its brown- colored depths. You could get lost in there, she thought.  
  
Sara was drowsy, and wasn't feeling well. She had too much alcohol in her system. She instantly fell asleep on the table minutes after sitting down, and her coffee went all over. She did not come around for a while until someone woke her hours later.  
  
To be continued. 


	2. Dealing

~2~2~2~2~2~  
  
At the lab, Sara was sleeping peacefully when the rest of them arrived. She lay on the table, unaware that she had visitors.  
  
"Hey Sara. You ready for work?" Warrick nudged her in the side. She was a very heavy sleeper, so she didn't wake up.  
  
"Let her be," said Grissom, who was looking at her, expressionless.  
  
"But shift starts in fifteen minutes," Nick pointed out.  
  
"She needs her sleep. Let her rest."  
  
"Okay, whatever you say Griss." Warrick got up and went to the coffee maker. "I'm going to make a fresh pot. Anyone want some?"  
  
"Yeah," said Catherine who was sitting quietly surveying the scene. "I'll take some."  
  
"Okay, Anyone else?" Warrick paused, waiting. "Okay. One for me and Cath then." He measured the water and started to make the coffee.  
  
They all did their normal thing before shift, which was mostly sitting and talking. They talked about things that really were meaningless, and they avoided the subject of Sara. Finally, shift had started and they were all going on their assignments.  
  
"Warrick, Nick, you both get to continue the Thrailkill case."  
  
"I like the idea that he guy who gets killed has a name like 'Thrailkill'. It fits perfectly."  
  
"Shut up and get to work, Nick. Catherine, you're with me tonight on a new case. Let's go. We have to be there soon. Brass said ASAP."  
  
They got up and exited the building. They made light talk, and they got in the car, Catherine driving. She pulled out of the lot and onto the main road. She was thinking something was wrong, and she voiced it.  
  
"Grissom. What's up with Sara?" Catherine asked him.  
  
"I have no idea," Grissom replied.  
  
"Bullshit. Yes you do. Spill." Catherine Glanced at Grissom to see his guilty expression.  
  
"Well," he started and looked for the right words, "I really don't know how to tell you. Sara, well, when we got up this morning, umm." Grissom was at a loss for words. "Well, she broke up with me." He finally stammered. His voice was full of pain.  
  
"Really?" Catherine gaped. "Oh my God! I feel so awful!"  
  
"Well, Sara thinks that I don't love her and." It all came pouring out from Grissom. Everything. "Lady Heather is my real object of affection and all this shit. I love her, Catherine, I really do. She went on and bitched about all of this stuff and she said that I didn't love her and she's leaving. I mean, I'm a guy. I look at other women. Sara doesn't get that. I really didn't mean anything by it. Heather was just, well, I don't know what I saw in her." He sighed. He felt a little better and at least Catherine might be able to help him. After all, she was a woman.  
  
"Whoa."  
  
"You're telling me."  
  
"Well, just stay low for awhile. I'll talk to Sara for you. She was just freaking out."  
  
"She moved all of her stuff out of my house, Catherine."  
  
"Ooh. This is serious. I really don't know what to say."  
  
"Catherine, look." Grissom pulled Sara's ring out of his pocket. It sparkled in the moonlight. He showed it to Catherine.  
  
"She gave it back to you?!" Catherine said in surprise as she looked at the ring.  
  
"Yes. It's eating me up inside. Catherine, I really don't know what to do." Grissom was desperate.  
  
"I'll work on it," Catherine promised. She pulled into the driveway of a house that had many police cars already there and bright yellow crime scene tape around it. "We're here."  
  
As Grissom got out he said to Catherine in a somewhat muted voice, "Please don't tell anyone. I really don't want anyone to know. Not very many people knew we were engaged, and they really don't need to know the whole story."  
  
"I wasn't planning to. But I'll definitely talk to Sara." She picked up her kit and started to walk towards the house.  
  
"Thanks." Grissom upped his tone, "So, This guy that got killed was male, Caucasian, 42 years of age. Neighbor called it in."  
  
"Okay, so any word on how he was killed?"  
  
"Not yet." Grissom and Catherine continued to walk and went inside where the sight of a man in a pool of blood greeted them  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
True to her word, when Catherine got back to the lab, she went and talked to Sara. She was still fast asleep on the break room table.  
  
"Sara." She nudged her. "Time to get up."  
  
Sara woke with a start. "Oh shit! How long have I been asleep, Catherine? Shift's probably started already!" She went to get up, but Catherine was in her way. "Please move. I really need to get to work."  
  
Catherine pushed her back into the chair and sat down herself. "Look, Sara. I really don't know what to say. All I know is tat you really screwed up. Grissom loves you."  
  
"Oh not this shit again. Look, Catherine," she said, "Heather is more important to him than me. It's over." When she said this, her eyes began to water and a single crystal tear leaked out.  
  
"Bullshit. You still love him and you know it. You're crying. That tells it all right there."  
  
"If I did, I couldn't go back to him." Another tear leaked out f her lovely brown eyes.  
  
"Why do you say that?"  
  
"I've caused too much trouble already. Grissom won't forgive me." More tears leaked out and then she began to cry full out.  
  
Catherine gave her a hug. "Honey, you haven't even begun to understand that man. One doesn't live long enough to figure him out."  
  
"You're full of shit. He'll never take me back, and besides, I don't want to go." She broke away from Catherine and looked at her with a red puffy face.  
  
"Why don't you want to go back to him?" Catherine asked. "He wants you."  
  
"Catherine Willows, you don't understand me and you never will. Just leave me be and stop interfering."  
  
"Okay. It's your life to screw up," Cath said as she got up. "But remember, if you need to talk, I'm here." With this, she left the break room. She came back to Sara, "Oh yeah, you're working with Warrick and Nick."  
  
"Thanks." Sara got up and went to find out where the two of them were. She didn't have to go far, as they were in the lab fooling around with Greg.  
  
"Hi guys," she said as she approached them. "Anything new on the case?"  
  
"Well, don't you look like hell," commented Greg when he saw her.  
  
"Don't rub it in," she said gloomily.  
  
"What happened?" asked Nick with way more compassion than Greg.  
  
"I don't want to talk about it. Let's leave it at that."  
  
"That's fine," Warrick replied. "We'll leave you alone."  
  
The three of them worked through the night. Sara finally managed to catch Nick by himself.  
  
"Can I borrow tour truck?" Sara asked Nick as the walked down the hall.  
  
"Why? Does this have something to do with, well, you know."  
  
"Yeah. I need to move my bed out of Grissom's," Sara said, with great pain.  
  
"Oh. Really?" Nick asked. He was curious.  
  
Sara nodded. "Do you think I would lie to you?"  
  
"No. Point taken. Just out of curiosity, do you have somewhere to put your bed?"  
  
"Yeah. At the storage place."  
  
"The storage place." Nick repeated. He thought for a second. "You mean you don't have your own place, and you're not staying at Grissom's, so you don't have anywhere to spend the night?"  
  
"You got it right on the dot." Sara sighed. "I don't know where I'm going to sleep tonight. The hotels are so damn expensive, but I guess I have no choice."  
  
Nick thought for a minute. Yeah, he had a spare bedroom. "You can stay at my place tonight if you want."  
  
"Really? That'd be great! Thanks Nick!" exclaimed Sara.  
  
"No problem."  
  
The rest of the night, Sara was happy for the most part. When shift was over, She took Nick's truck over to Grissom's and Nick drove her car home. He had offered to help her, but she declined. "I can do it," she said.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Sara came to Nick's house about an hour after he got there. She had been here only once before for a Halloween party. Nick was already asleep. She let herself in with the key Nick had given her earlier, and she went to the spare bedroom. She carried a bag with the bare essentials she needed. It took her awhile to find them, but at least she had the boxes labeled.  
  
She was done. She had gotten all of her stuff out of Grissom's. She was on her own again. This thought both comforted her and disturbed her as she went to get ready for bed.  
  
To be continued. 


	3. Back to Lady Heather's

~3~3~3~3~3~  
  
Nick woke Sara up in the afternoon. She was curled up in his yellow satin sheets and was sleeping like a stone. She looked so peaceful there, just lying, having no troubles or worries. He really didn't want to disturb her, but he had to. Just to be nice, he had cut her up some cantaloupe and strawberries. He didn't want to get on her good side like Grissom did, but she was stressed, and a little nice might help her ease up.  
  
"Sara, Time to get up." He shook her shoulders lightly. "I cut some fruit for you."  
  
She did awaken, but didn't open her eyes yet. "Oh Grissom, that was so kind of you." She put her arms around Nick. "You shouldn't have." She opened her eyes to find Nick in her arms. "Oh Nick!" She broke from the embrace. "I'm so sorry! I thought you were Grissom. It was just yesterday that I was in bed with him."  
  
"It's okay. Here, I brought you something." Nick put the tray of fruit in front of her. "Hope you like cantaloupe and strawberries." He took the tray and put it on her nightstand.  
  
"Oh, I do!" she said when she saw the fruit. "Come here, Nick." She grabbed him close to her and gave him another hug, but this time, she did it with meaning and the knowledge that he was Nick. Tears had begun to leak out of her eyes again. She had cried so much the past day. Why? Why did she cry? There was only one answer. And that answer's name was Gil Grissom.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Grissom woke with a start. He had been dreaming of Sara. He just couldn't stop thinking of her. She had been his whole life, and now, now what? She still was. She just wasn't here. He still loved her and she knew it. He'd get her to come back, he was sure. But how? Catherine said she'd help.  
  
He got out of bed, missing the warmth of Sara's body when he woke up. He desperately missed her. Why did she have to go? Heather. He now wished that he never met her. She was nothing but trouble.  
  
He went to get ready for work, and to see Sara. Maybe she'd talk to him today. She'd have to sooner or later. After all, he was her boss.  
  
He'd win her over. It was just a matter of time.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
When Grissom was tense that night. When he got to work, Brass came up to him in the hallway with a new case. "Hey Griss. New case."  
  
"What?" Grissom walked into the break room and sat down.  
  
"Another murder." Said Brass, who was leaned against the counter.  
  
"Surprise, Surprise. That's our job Jim, to investigate murders." Grissom said with the most openness in the world. "What the hell are they teaching you anyway?"  
  
"Well, you're edgy tonight. What I was saying was, it's just that, well," Brass stammered, "to cut a long story short, the body's at Heather's."  
  
Grissom took this new piece of information in. He didn't speak but rather held his breath in. This wasn't good news. He didn't mean for the victim, because it was always bad news for them. He meant for himself.  
  
"Yeah. That's what I thought." Brass said upon seeing Grissom. "Anyway, I need someone on it tonight." Brass walked away, leaving Grissom to his work.  
  
Grissom couldn't decide who to put on the case. He surely wasn't setting foot over there again. He'd never get Sara back then. Sara would really blow when she found out that was Lady Heather. Warrick and Nick were doing really well on their case, and he didn't want to pull them away from it. Maybe Catherine was the only option.  
  
He was just thinking of what to do when Catherine walked in. It was a cold winter night, and she was wearing a sweater that went down to her knees. She held a cup of Starbuck's coffee in her hands. Grissom didn't say anything to her.  
  
She set her purse down and glanced at Grissom. "What's up, Grissom?" she asked him, seeing his worried expression.  
  
"A murder at Lady Heather's," he responded. "I don't know who to put on the case."  
  
Catherine thought for a second. "Put me and Sara on it." She took out a pop tart from the cabinet and opened it.  
  
"Are you kidding?!" Grissom said in surprise. "The whole reason Sara isn't sitting next to me right now is because of Heather!"  
  
"I can get a chance to talk to Sara. And let her see that you never would have looked at Heather the same way you do her." She mulled over this for a second. "Trust me, Grissom. This will work."  
  
"Well," Grissom said in deep thought. "If you think you can handle it, then go for it." He took a crossword out and started to work on it.  
  
"Pfanks," she said through a mouthful of pop tart.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Catherine lifted the brass knocker on the door and let it go.  
  
"What the hell is this place, a haunted castle?" Sara asked Catherine.  
  
Before Catherine could reply, the door opened and Lady Heather was standing in front of them. "Hello," she said.  
  
"Hi Catherine Willows, Sara Sidle. Las Vegas Crime Lab."  
  
"Oh the Crime Lab," Heather responded. "Welcome. Welcome to my dominion. Make yourself at home."  
  
She stepped back to let Sara and Catherine through. They stepped into the entrance hall. The spiral staircase seemed to watch them from above. The ceiling was at least two stories high, and gave the whole place an eerie feeling. They looked around at the gothic style. Sara was somewhat interested, as she had never been here before. Catherine had once.  
  
"Yes, it's nice isn't it?" Heather asked them, her tone carefree and mysterious.  
  
"Where's the body Miss?" Sara asked her. She was done looking and wanted to get to work.  
  
"Right this way," Lady Heather replied and waved them to follow her. "And please, call me Lady Heather."  
  
At this, Sara gasped.  
  
"You alright?" Lady Heather asked her.  
  
"Never better," replied Sara, densely. She was putting the pieces together, but slowly. Grissom was the one who assigned them to cases and he knew everything that was involved with them. Why would Grissom send her here? And with Catherine. Well, Catherine was right about one thing. That man was one damn big mystery.  
  
Sara had never actually seen Heather or her place. This was what Grissom was all about? It both intrigued and disgusted Sara as she followed Heather. She was led past rooms with people in them, screaming at each other. Sara didn't see what Grissom saw in here, and that made her even angrier.  
  
They were shown into a dimly lit room with very few furnishings. There was a figure slumped over in a chair and a knife through her heart. "Here you go," Lady Heather said as she directed them inside. "Jennifer Trenton. She normally was the submissive with her clients." Lady heather paused and looked at Jen. "Poor thing. She will definitely be missed around here. Brought in a load of cash too." She looked at her employee, expressionless. "Take all the time you want. I'm here if you need me." With that, she left them to do their work.  
  
Sara turned to Catherine as she was opening her field kit. "Why didn't you tell me we were coming here of all places?" she snapped at Catherine. "You probably knew this was where she is. You've been here before."  
  
Catherine thought out her response carefully. "You need to realize that Grissom was never interested in her," she replied dryly. She took out her gloves and put them on.  
  
"I do?!" Sara howled. "Look, Catherine, I told you not to fucking interfere and I meant it!" She bent down to look for footprints.  
  
"Sara, he needs you and you need him." She snapped a picture of the body. "You know that."  
  
"I don't need him." she lifted the paper up. "Got one," she said, as she saw a partial footprint on the film.  
  
Catherine looked at the body closely. She found a hair, lifted it, and put it in an evidence bag. "Yes you do Sara. You damn well know it."  
  
"Bullshit." She paused. "Where's Heather?" she asked, getting up. "I want to talk to her."  
  
"no idea, but when you find her, bring her in here," said Catherine from across the small room.  
  
"Okay." Sara went out of the room and soon returned with Lady Heather.  
  
"What would you like with me?" she asked.  
  
"Who discovered the body?" Catherine asked her.  
  
"I did."  
  
"Okay. Can you tell me a little more about Jennifer?"  
  
"Well, she was a really good worker as I might have said before. Lots of our clients asked for her. Now I have a question for you. Where's Mister Grissom? He came here the last two times to investigate. I thought he might have come here this time."  
  
Sara was livid. "I knew it! See Catherine! I told you!" She continued to yell. Without warning, Sara lunged at Lady Heather. "You bitch! You stole him from me!" Just in time, Catherine was able to grab Sara and manage to keep her away from Lady Heather. She had Sara by the arms and wasn't letting go anytime soon. Sara was putting up a good fight though. "I'll get you, I promise! I'll put you in the ground!" Sara was yelling. She still tried to get at Heather. "Let me go, Catherine! Get the hell off of me!" She was strong, but Catherine was stronger.  
  
"SARA!" Catherine yelled with more force than she had ever before. Sara was stunned. She had never heard Catherine yell like that before. She stopped trying to get at Heather, and both women fell back. Once she caught her breath, Catherine spoke up. "We're here to investigate a murder! Not make one!" She got up, leaving Sara on the floor, shocked. "Look what you did. Most of the evidence is destroyed now! How do you think that's going to make this look in court?" Sara just looked at her. "This was a bad idea. Take the Tahoe and go back to the lab. Send Nick over here. And," she added as an afterthought, "take of your clothes. They're evidence." With this, she motioned Lady Heather to follow her. She walked away, leaving Sara on the cold floor, all alone.  
  
Sara got up and went out to the Tahoe. So that was Lady Heather. Disgusting. She didn't like her one bit. What was Grissom thinking? She was totally wrong for him. She took off her clothes and put them in an evidence bag, just as Cath had asked her. She put on her black Forensics jumpsuit that was in the back of the Tahoe. Maybe she went a little overboard. She could see the attraction that men saw in Heather, she was mysterious, and Grissom did like that. But the rest of her was all wrong. Everything. Sara got in the Tahoe and drove back to the lab. Maybe she was right to lunge at lady heather. She was the one who chose Grissom, not Grissom her. She could lure any man in there with those sexy clothes she wears and that rock hard body of hers. But Grissom was smarter than that. He should have known. She was so mixed up, she didn't know what to think. She definitely needed another night of sleep on it. Maybe two.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
When Sara got to Nick's house that night, she longed for someone to be beside her. Someone to cuddle. Someone to keep her warm. Someone to talk to. Someone to love. Nick was just across the hall, she reminded herself. She thought for a minute and made up her mind. She got up and walked across the hall to Nick.  
  
His door was wide open, but she knocked on it anyway. "Hey Nick." She looked at him. He was watching TV.  
  
"Need Something Sara?" he asked turning away from the TV. "I'll get it for you."  
  
"Actually, I do need something," she said as she moved closer to him. "I need that something very, very much." She sighed.  
  
"Anything," he said. He pulled off his sheets and got up. "Tell me what it is you desire."  
  
Sara looked at him. He had nothing on except his boxer shorts. He looked hot and tempting. "I need..." Sara stuttered.  
  
"Yes?"  
  
Sara couldn't bring herself to say it. This whole thing was wrong. Nick looked so tempting standing there half naked, but she just couldn't say it. It wasn't right. Not Nick. "I need to know where the peanut butter and jelly are. I'm hungry." She said in a rush.  
  
Nick looked surprised. "If that's what you want," he said, He went to the kitchen and fished out the peanut butter and jelly. "You need bread too," he said. He also got that for Sara. "Knives are over there," he said, pointing, "and that's where the paper plates are." He bid her goodnight and went back to his room.  
  
Sara wasn't hungry at all. If anything, she was sick. The last thing she wanted to do was eat. She took the ingredients and put them back where Nick had gotten them.  
  
Sara returned to her room. She needed Grissom, no doubt about it. But he wouldn't take her back. He just wouldn't. Catherine didn't know what the hell she was talking about. Or so Sara thought.  
  
Sara got into her bed. She cried herself to sleep that night.  
  
To be continued... 


	4. 4

~4~4~4~4~4~  
  
When Nick woke up in the morning, he was thinking about Sara. She was acting weird last night. No doubt about it. She came onto his room wanting PB&J. Now Nick knew Sara, and she definitely was not the PB&J type, especially that early in the morning. When she came in there, she was acting...weird. There really was no other word for it. He had never seen her act like that. He thought for a second. Wait, he had seen her like that - when she was around Grissom. What did that mean though?  
  
Sara had moved out of Grissom's house. He knew that. He was also one of the few people who knew they were engaged. They must have had a huge fight for her to move out and break up the engagement. After all, they were crazy about each other. But, being the gentleman that he was, Nick didn't ask why Sara had moved out. He was full of wonder, though. He was about ready to tie her down to a chair and demand what the hell was going on with her and his boss.  
  
He thought more. She was available! He suddenly realized. He had held this major crush on her since the day she came to the lab. He could now make his move! Yes! He also had a good quality. He could give her what Grissom couldn't. After all, he was a lot younger than Grissom.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Today, Nick drove Sara to the lab in his pickup. He took his eyed from the read for just a second to look at Sara. She was cute. He couldn't deny it. When they got too the lab, Nick made Sara some coffee.  
  
"Here you go," he said, handing her a Styrofoam cup with steaming hot coffee in it.  
  
"Thanks," she said, taking the cup from Nick.  
  
"No problem," he replied. He flashed her one of his dazzling smiles. Sara caught this and smiled back at him. "Nice smile you got there," he told her.  
  
"You're full of shit," she said to Nick. "I could fit a quarter between my teeth when I was five. I hate my damn teeth."  
  
"I like your teeth," he responded.  
  
"You do?" asked Sara, turning to him.  
  
"Yes."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Grissom walked along the hall. He was headed to the break room to get his experiment out of the refrigerator. Hopefully the results would help his case along. He arrived outside of the break room, but he stopped short in his tracks. The sight that met his eyes was a shock to him. Nick and Sara were being more that friendly to each other. Way more than friendly.  
  
Was this how Sara considered him? Grissom was thinking. "Oh well, Grissom's gone, I might as well move on to Nick. "She better not have. She was better than that, and Grissom knew it. He took a breath and walked into the break room.  
  
"Hi Sara. Hi Nick," he said very fast.  
  
"Hi," they both said simultaneously as Grissom opened up the refrigerator door. He didn't reply, but rather got his experiment off of the top shelf. He walked out of the break room, leaving Sara and Nick together. He walked back down the hall to his office. He sat, or rather, threw his experiment on the desktop. Who really cared what cold temperatures did to an African violet? Surely not he. What Grissom needed right now was some expert advice. He left his office to seek Catherine. She was his only hope.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Catherine had pulled up a chair next to Greg while she waited for him. She was talking to him about her dancing days.  
  
"Yes, Greg," she was saying, "I know it's hard to believe, but yes, I, Catherine Willows, did take it all off for strangers."  
  
Greg tried to imagine Catherine as a stripper. He had gone to clubs and stuff.but Catherine? He was nevertheless intrigued as he analyzed the sample. "Nice. So, why'd you do it?"  
  
"Don't get me wrong. The pay was great and it wasn't labor intensive. All I had to do was impress the guys there, and that wasn't very hard to do. And in a way, I guess, I liked the attention a bit."  
  
"You did?" Greg asked. "Did you have a nice ass?" He paused. "Never mind, Never mind," he said very fast. He looked down at Catherine's DNA sample that he was still analyzing. "Well, that's interesting. What was it like from your dancer's point of view?"  
  
"Well," Catherine began. "It was like..." She looked over her shoulder. Grissom was walking towards her. She immediately stopped talking to Greg.  
  
"Why'd you stop? I was listening." He looked up at her. He saw that she was looking over his shoulder, not at him. Greg turned around and followed her eyes over to Grissom.  
  
"Hi Catherine," he said as he reached her. "Come with me. I really need to talk to you."  
  
Catherine got up and followed Grissom. "What is it?" she asked him.  
  
"I really need help this time."  
  
"Sara?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"What's up now?"  
  
"Well, she's, with, with Nick." They walked toward the break room. "Let me show you." They passed by, looking through the windows. Nick and Sara were still in there flirting.  
  
When they were a safe distance away, Catherine spoke. "Oh my god. That isn't good."  
  
"No it isn't." Grissom replied. He held his breath, waiting for Catherine to make everything right with the world. "What do I do?" he asked.  
  
Catherine thought for a second. "I have Nick tonight. I'll talk to him. And," she thought a little more. "I can ask Sara to come over to my place tonight."  
  
Grissom let out a rush of air. "Thanks Cath," he said, warmly and relieved. She was amazing. "Catherine, I cannot thank you enough."  
  
"No problem." She replied. "Anyway, Nicky and I have to get going now."  
  
"Okay. See you later."  
  
Catherine walked away from Grissom and back to the break room. Nick had gotten Sara to sit on his lap. Catherine was glad that she had come when she did. "Come on Nick," she said to him. "We have a suspect to go to tonight."  
  
"Can Sara come?" Nick asked. He was staring blankly at Catherine.  
  
"For god's sake, no. She's Working with Warrick," Catherine Said with no emotion at all.  
  
Nick grudgingly got Sara to get off his lap and stood up. "Okay." He said. "Let's do this so we can come back here." Nick was looking at Sara when he said this as he walked out the door with Catherine. They both walked outside to the Tahoe and got in. Catherine was driving. She backed the car up and pulled out into the night.  
  
They car was very quiet as neither of them were talking. Catherine decided to break the silence. "So, Nicky," she said, trying to make conversation. "What are you up to?"  
  
"Nothing," Nick replied wishing that if it was too quiet for her, she should have turned on the radio or something.  
  
"Wonderful," said Catherine, unimpressed. She needed to talk to Nick about Sara, but not now. She needed to warm up to him first. "What are you going to do on your day off tomorrow?" she asked him.  
  
"Sleep," he replied. He really felt like some music. "Hey Cath?"  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Can I turn on the radio?  
  
"Sure," he said, wishing that he would at least have wanted to talk to her. Nick turned the dial on the dashboard until he found what he was looking for. He was considerate and didn't turn it up all the way how he liked it. They drove the rest of the way listening to the radio.  
  
Catherine pulled in the suspect's driveway a little while later. She and Nick got out and Nick knocked on the door. It opened after Nick's second knock to reveal a tall, thin blonde guy.  
  
"Hello," he said. "Can I help you?"  
  
"Brian Spilner?" Nick asked.  
  
"Yes," he said, mystified. "Do you want something?"  
  
"Yeah," Catherine said. "In fact we do. I'm Willows, this is Stokes. We're from the Las Vegas Crime lab. Do you know a Jennifer Trenton?"  
  
"Jennifer Trenton." he repeated in thought. "Umm, Yeah I know her. I was with her last night."  
  
"She was murdered. And we found you DNA at the Crime scene."  
  
A look of shock came over Brian's face. "She's...she's... DEAD?"  
  
"Yes," Nick replied. "You said you were with her last night?"  
  
"Yes," Brian said with obvious pain. "And I'll never get to see her again."  
  
You'll have to come in for questioning at the station," Nick said. "Just procedure."  
  
"Okay, That'd be fine," Brian replied. "But one thing."  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Can I take my own car?"  
  
"You sure?" Cath asked.  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Okay then," Catherine sighed. "One of us should ride with you though."  
  
"Nah, I got it."  
  
"Okay then." They both went to their separate cars and got in. "Follow us," Nick yelled to Brian out the window of the Tahoe. Catherine pulled out of the driveway and out into the night.  
  
Catherine and Nick sat for a minute or two in silence, thoughts to themselves. Then Nick voiced his. "That guy is a mess."  
  
"Well, Nicky, you would be too if you just figured out that your girlfriend was murdered."  
  
Yeah, well, I guess you're right. Kristy was a bit of a shock. But, that guy was way more messed up than I was. And I had to worry about going to jail!"  
  
"Yeah, well, I saved your ass. Anyway, this guy still has to worry about jail."  
  
"Oh yeah, that's right." He thought for a moment. "I would be like that guy though if Sara was murdered."  
  
"What the hell does that mean?"  
  
"Well, I like her and she likes me. I-"  
  
"NICK STOKES!" Catherine yelled, causing Nick to jump. "Sara is not yours! She is Grissom's! Do you not have eyes? Leave her alone! She still loves Grissom and you know it. I have been trying to show her that. You on her case isn't helping."  
  
"But Catherine, I-"  
  
"But nothing Nick. Please let me deal with her. She's a handful. Just trust me on this one." With that, Catherine was done. Nick seemed to get the point, and he Stayed quiet the rest of the way back to the lab.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Catherine finally managed to catch Sara that night, just as she was walking out. "Sara!" she called, half walking, half jogging. Heels weren't very good if you wanted to go fast. "Wait up! These heels are a bitch to walk in!" She caught up to Sara. "Hey, Come on! Let's go have a beer."  
  
"No, thanks for the offer though. I'm beat."  
  
"You sure? Because we can go somewhere relaxing then, how about a spa?"  
  
"Hell no! There are way too many germs in those places!"  
  
Catherine had to smile at this. But she was running out of ideas. What else would keep Sara away from Nick's place? "You hungry then? We could go for a burger."  
  
Sara looked shocked. "I'm a vegetarian!" With this, she got in with Nick. "Goodbye," she said as she rolled the window up. Nick started the car and drove away.  
  
"Shit. Wrong thing to say." Catherine walked back to her car.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
When Sara got back to Nick's Place, she was ready to collapse on to the bed. She looked up at Nick. He looked so hot right there, just sitting on the couch. She was next to him. Nick had turned on the radio, and a song was playing in the background.  
  
As I sit here and slowly close my eyes  
  
I take another deep breath  
  
And feel the wind pass through my body  
  
I'm the one in your soul  
  
Reflecting the light  
  
Protect the ones who hold you  
  
Cradling your inner child  
  
It's serenity  
  
In a place where I can hide  
  
I need serenity  
  
Nothing changes, days go by  
  
Where do we go when we just don't know  
  
And how do we relight the flame when it's cold  
  
Why do we dream when I thought mean nothing  
  
And when will we learn to control  
  
"I like this song," Sara told Nick.  
  
"So do I."  
  
Sara looked over at Nick. Who really cared anymore if it wasn't Grissom. She needed someone. The longing had become so strong. She grabbed Nick. "Come here you."  
  
Nick had barely enough time for a conscious thought before he felt Sara's lips on his own. He pulled her to him. Sara's hands went everywhere, down his sides, under his shirt, caressing his chest. Nick pulled her closer and kissed her with a force he had never known. Her touch was soft and inviting.  
  
She tried to remove his shirt, but she couldn't. Nick pulled away from her for just a second to rid himself of the offending piece of clothing. Hen then moved closer to Sara and took off her shirt as well. Nick pulled Sara back to him. Here was the girl he had his eye on for about two years now, Right here, with him. This was unexpected, but very welcome.  
  
He gasped as he felt her long thin fingers pull down the zipper to his pants. Nick shifted position so he could kick them off. He cradled Sara. She was the only thing he was thinking about right now and the object of his affection. His fingers stroked her waist as he ripped her pants off. She had no reason to hide her beautiful body. His hands stroked her newly exposed flesh.  
  
She pulled away from him. Nick watched her as she walked down the hall to his bedroom. She glanced seductively at him before disappearing into there. He quickly followed her, but not before stopping in the bathroom for a condom first.  
  
To be continued...  
  
_-_-_-_-_-_  
  
AN: Sorry about that, but I have had that song stuck in my head for a while. It's Serenity by Godsmack. If you get a chance, listen to it, because it rocks.  
  
Hey, I still have no idea whether this is going to be a G/S or a N/S! Help me out here, and please give me a better reason than "They belong together." That doesn't help much! 


End file.
